Chair



June 22, 1937. A. R. SCHWARZKOIPF 2,034,871

' CHAIR Filed March 25, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 22, 1937.

A. R. SCHWARZKOPF I CHAIR Filed March 25, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 22,1937. v SCHWARZKQPF 2,084,871

CHAIR Filed March 25, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 A. R. SCHWARZK'OPF June 22,1937.

CHAIR 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 25, 1935 Patented June 22, 1937 FFlQECHAIR poration of Illinois Application Mai-ch25, 1935, Serial No. 12,867

14 Claims.

The features of the present invention have relation to the structure ofthe framework of the chair and the mounting therefor, and are designedwith particular reference to the modern -5 trend in design which makesprovision for the utilization of various colors in finish with suitablemetallic trim which serves to enhance the beauty of the design.

The structure of the present chair, and particularly the base portionthereof, is one which readily permits of the use of a skeleton frameworkof uniform construction in conjunction with panels which may be of anydesired color, so that numerous variations in color effect can .15 bereadily secured in chairs having the same 23 enhancing the beauty of thedesign as a whole.

Further objects and details of the invention will appear from thedescription thereof in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,wherein,

30 Figure 1 is a perspective view of the chair as a whole;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the base portion taken on line 2-2 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail taken on line 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the outer end of one of the strutswhich engages the base ring;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the seat frame taken 40 on line 5-5 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail taken on line 66 of Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is a perspective View of the front head member constituting aportion of the side panel 45 mounting for the seat frame;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the rear head member for the side panelmounting;

Fig. 9 is an inner faceview of one of the side panel mountings taken online 9--9 of Fig. 5; 50 Fig. 10 is a view of a seat frame having amodified form of side and back panel mountings; Figs. 11 to 14 aredetails of the mountings of Fig. 10;'

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of the seat back 55 frame; and

Fig. 16 is a sectional elevation through the center of the back frame.

The chair as a whole in general comprises a base 26, which affords amounting for the seat 2! which is carried upon a vertically movable 5post 22. The seat is provided with a tiltable back 23, a step 25, a footrest 26, and a head rest 2'5. The seat is provided with the usual seatcushion 23 and the back with a back cushion 29. The general arrangementis that of the con- 10 ventional barbers chair with suitable provisionfor raising and lowering the seat post and adjusting the back and footrest in the conventional manner. In respect to the general arrangementof these features, therefore, it is not deemed 15 necessary to describethe details, which form no portion of the present invention.

The base comprises a metallic ring of sufficient diameter to afiord afloor contact of substantial expanse, which ring is preferably ofrelatively light construction but of great strength and rigidity, sinceit constitutes the base for the support of the entire weight of thechair.

As shown, the ring is of generally circular cross section, with theexception of a circumferentially extending quarter notch 3| formed inthe lower inner segment which cuts away the lower inner quarter segmentof the ring, thus forming an overhanging surface for the contact of theouter ends of a plurality of radially extending struts 30 32 which areof the configuration best shown in Fig. 4.

Each of the struts is of semi-circular cross section throughout itsupper portion 33, and provided with a rib 34 of lesser width than thedi- 35 ameter along its lower side, affording on each side of the struta shoulder 35 at the point of juncture between the rib and the upperhalf of the strut. The rib at its outer end is extended to furnish asquare tongue 36 which ex- 40 tends at a slight angle to the body of therib and is adapted to underlie the notched portion of the base ring andto act in conjunction with the undercut end 3'! of the upper portion ofthe strut, which undercut is concavely formed to fit snugly upon therounded inner upper surface of the ring, so that when the struts arethrust outwardly as in use, they will by frictional contact effect atight and firm union with the ring.

The inner end 38 of each of the struts is of truly cylindricalconfiguration and fits within an obliquely disposed bore 39 as shown inFig. 2. The bores, one for each strut, are cut through a series of lugs40 inwardly extending from the wall 4! of a center ring shaped casting42, the upper rim 43 of which is rounded inwardly and shouldered aroundits inner margin at the point 44 to receive the lower end of acylindrical skirt 45 which terminates at its upper end in an inwardlyextending rim 4% adapted to encircle the post 22 upon which the chairseat is mounted.

The struts extend inwardly and upwardly in oblique relation to the levelof the floor so that their inner converging ends serve to elevate thering shaped casting above the floor level, thereby utilizing the ring 39to afford a base having rim contact only with the floor. In order toimpart a thrust to the struts 32 to hold them tightly against the ring30, each of the bores 36 is threaded at its inner end to receive a screwplug ll which is provided in its end with a squared recess d8 adapted toreceive a suitable tool for adjusting the plug. By thus adjusting theplugs individually, the required thrust can be imparted to each of thestruts to hold its outer end into tightly fitting engagement with thering, so that the thrust occasioned by the weight of the chair as awhole will be outwardly imparted through the radially arranged struts,and equally distributed to all portions of the ring base, giving to thewhole a wheel shaped formation.

The base portion of the chair is finished by the insertion of thinpanels 49, which are preferably of metal having an enamel finish in thedesired color, so that by providing a skeleton base construction ofstandard form, numerous color variations may be secured in the making upof the chairs by inserting panels of the desired color.

Each panel is of truncated segmental shape and of a size to fit snuglywithin the space afforded by the notched ring 30 in conjunction with theshoulders 35 along the sides of the struts, the inner edges of thepanels being inserted with in a circumferential groove 50 formed aroundthe outer wall of the ring shaped casting at the required height toreceive the panels. In order to hold the panel tightly in place,U-shaped clips 51 (Fig. 3) are provided, which straddle the ribs 34 andare held in place by screws 52.

Each of the lugs 45 on the interior of the ring shaped casting isprovided on its under side with a flat faced boss 53, which bosses, inunison, furnish aligned contacting surfaces for the attachment of theflange 54 outwardly extending from the base of a center cylinder 55,which extends upwardly and provides for the reception of the oil pumpingfeatures by which the seat is raised and lowered, but which have norelevancy to the present invention and need not be described.

The skirt 45 is provided with an outwardly extending peripheral flange56 which bears upon the upper edge of the rim 43 which is shouldered toreceive the lower margin of the skirt, and the parts are finished toafford an attractive flare at the base of the skirt and at the point ofits juncture with the base 20.

In practice, it is customary to finish the ring 35, the struts 32, andthe exposed portions of thering shaped casting 42, in chromium finish,and to utilize a skirt of appropriate color in enamel finish, which inconjunction with the colored panels 49 separated by the chromium finshedstruts, affords an attractive and beautiful finish to the base portionof the chair as a whole.

The seat and back portions of the chair are constructed in a mannerwhich is intended to harmonize with the structure and finish of the baseportions of the chair. The seat frame 2i comprises a center ring shapedbase portion 51 which is suitably supported upon the post 2 w ich.

ring shaped base portion has radially extending therefrom two forwardarms 58 and two rear arms 59, which extend to the forward and rearcorners of the chair seat.

The base portion of the seat frame connects with side frames 5e, each ofwhich stands edgewise and is provided near its lower edge with forwardand rear inwardly extending lugs 65 which are connected by means ofbolts 62 with the adjacent forward and rear arms 58 and 59 respectively.

Each of the side frames 55 is provided with an elongated slot 53 in itsbody, and is outwardly flanged and rounded to afford an attractivefinish along its upper edge 54. The side frames afford a mounting forside panels 65, each of which is preferably formed from a thin plate ofmetal having an enamel finish in an appropriate color, and each of thepanels is surrounded by a border frame of special construction.

The forward end of each border frame may be afforded by a head piece 66of C-shaped formation, as shown in Fig. 7, comprising a vertical bodyportion 5% and upper and lower horizontal arms 58, which arms areshouldered at E9 to afford reduced ends l6 which telescope into theforward ends of flattened connecting rails H.

The rails ll at their rear ends, on each side, telescope onto thereduced ends 12 of arms 73 which extend forwardly on each side from arear head piece M, which is similar in all respects to the ones firstdescribed, save that it is of duplicate angular formation to afiord acorner finish for the rear corners of the seat frame.

The back of the chair is rounded, as shown in Fig. 5, so that the backarms of the head piece M, instead of extending at a true angle, areslightly curved to conform to the general curvature of the back and areconnected by flattened tubular rails 15, which telescope onto the endsof the arms, as illustrated in Fig. 9. Likewise, the back panel iscompleted by the provision of a curving back panel plate 16.

The panels are secured in place behind the respective panel frames, bythe provision of spring clips 71, the ends of which are offset to affordtongues 18 which are sprung through apertures 79 in the inner faces ofthe tube sections, H or 75 as the case may be. This arrangement servesto hold the panels snugly against the marginal frames, which thus serveto provide an attractive finish along the sides and around the rear ofthe seat frame.

The shouldering of the arms 68 and I3 respectively is calculated tobring the surfaces of the i tubular rails H into flush relation with thearms of the head pieces, so that when the parts are snugly fitttedtogether and suitably finished, and brazed or otherwise secured, nojoint will be discernible. It is preferred in practice to give to thepanel frames and also to the exposed edges 5dof the side frames achromium finish in harmony with the finish observed in certain portionsof the base structure. The side panel frames with the panels attachedare held in place by screws 80 which are entered through the adjacentside frames 60 and into threaded bosses 8! formed on the respective headpieces.

' In place of the panel mountings above described, the mountingsillustrated in Figs. 10 to 14 may be employed, especially in cases wherea somewhat simplified and flatter surface effect is desired. In thiscase, side panels 9'! similar to panels 65 are provided which aresurrounded each by an open panel frame 98 of integral construc- 75 tioncomprising top and bottom rails 99 and I00 respectively, which areconnected at the rear by a back end rail Hill and at the front by afront end rail 582 provided with an inwardly turned flange [33 affordingthe front corner of the chair seat. The panel frames 98 are secured tothe adjacent side frames of the seat by bolts H14 and the panel framesbear against the margins of the enclosed panels and frame in the sameand serve to clamp them in place. Each side panel, however, ispositively secured in place by strap bands 35 which are offset at its toafford shoulders bearing against the edges of the panel and are fastenedat their ends by bolts H17 entered into the adjacent rails of the panelframe.

The back panel frame M39 is of arcuate formation and comprises upper andlower rails iii and Hi respectively, and end rails i i2 which abutsnugly against the ends of the side panel frames to afford the rearcorners of the chair seat. The rear panel frame is provided with lugs i53 projecting inwardly under the contiguous rear portion of the seatframe to which the lugs are secured by bolts H4. The rear panel frameencloses a curving rear panel H5 which is held in place by strap bands IHi similar to those heretofore described. The chair seat itself issimilar to that shown in Fig. 5.

The back comprises a frame 82 of rectangular formation, comprising abase rail 83, a top rail 84, and vertical side rails 85 formedintegrally as shown in Fig. 10. The top rail is provided with anintegrally formed depending tongue 86 and an adjacent slot oraperture'8'l for the reception of the usual head rest support. The backframe at its lower front corners is provided with outwardly extendingtrunnions 88 which are socketed within arms 89 upstanding from the sideframe 69 of the seat. The back frame is also provided on the forwardedges of the side rails 85 with forwardly extending lugs 90 havinglaterally extending trunnions 91 which serve as pivot mountings for armbrackets 92 on the rear ends of the arm rests 93.

The forward ends of the arm rests are provided with brackets 94 which inturn pivot with the upper ends of strips 95 which are pivoted to arms 96upstanding from the forward ends of the seat frame plat-es 69, whicharrangement permits the back, step and foot rests of the chair to betilted in the usual manner.

The construction of the back frame and its method of mounting is onewhich permits the back frame as a whole to be integrally formed fromsingle strip of metal bent to rectangular shape, since the trunnions 88,which maintain a fixed relation to the back frame, are adapted to beinserted into sockets in the arms 89, which are separable with the seatframe 60, so that the parts may be thus assembled without the necessityfor providing separable trunnion members on the back frame in the formof brackets or the like, which has heretofore been the common practice.

The method of forming the seat panels and panel frames is one whichpermits the basic structure of the seat as a Whole to be of uniformcharacter, but permits of variation in color finish by the mereexpedient of substituting enameled panel plates of the desired color,which when in place will afford an attractive and beautiful finish inharmony with the color scheme observed in the finishing of the baseportions of the chair.

Although the invention has been described in detail, it is not theintention in the claims, unless otherwise indicated, to limit theinvention to the form specifically shown and described, sincemodifications or variations therein may be introduced without departingfrom the principle of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a structure of the general character described, a base comprisinga ring shaped member, a supporting member centrally disposed withreference to the ring shaped member, radially extending strutsconnecting the supporting member with the ring shaped member, meanswithin the supporting member for exerting an outward thrust on thestruts to hold the same in close engagement with the ring shaped member,and separable panels fitted within the spaces defined between the ringshaped member, the struts and the supporting member.

2. In a structure of the general character described, a base comprisinga ring shaped member, a supporting member centrally disposed withreference to the ring shaped member, radially extending strutsconnecting the supporting member with the ring shaped member, a separateadjusting device for each of the struts, located within the supportingmember and adapted to impart a thrust to the associated struts to permitthe struts to be individually adjusted with respect to the ring shapedmember, and separable panels fitted within the spaces defined betweenthe ring shaped member, the struts and the supporting member.

3. In a structure of the general character described. a base comprisinga ring shaped member, a supporting member centrally disposed withreference to the ring shaped member, radially extending strutsconnecting the supporting member with the ring shaped member, screwplugs within the supporting member, bearing individually against theinner ends of the struts and adapted by screw adjustment to impart athrust to the associated struts to individually adjust the same withrespect to the ring shaped member, and separable panels fitted withinthe spaces defined between the ring shaped member, the struts and thesupporting member.

4. In a structure of the general character described, a base comprisinga ring shaped member, a supporting member centrally disposed withreference to the ring shaped member, radially extending strutsconnecting the supporting member with the ring shaped member, and meanswithin the supporting member for exerting an outward thrust on thestruts to hold the same in close engagement with the ring shaped member.

5. In a structure of the general character described, a base comprisinga ring shaped member, a supporting member centrally disposed withreference to the ring shaped member, radially extending strutsconnecting the supporting member with the ring shaped member, and aseparate adjusting device for each of the struts located within thesupporting member and adapted to impart a thrust to the associatedstruts to permit the struts to be individually adjusted with respect tothe ring shaped member.

6. In a structure of the general character de scribed, a base comprisinga ring shaped member, a supporting member centrally disposed withreference to the ring shaped member, radially extending strutsconnecting the supporting member with the ring shaped member, and screwplugs within the supporting member bearing individually against theinner ends of the struts and adapted by screw adjustment to impart athrust to the associated struts to individually adjust the same withrespect to the ring shaped member.

"I. In a structure of the general character described, a base comprisinga ring shaped member adapted to aiford rim contact with the floor, acentral supporting member concentrically arranged within and above theplane of the ring shaped member, radial struts outwardly and downwardlyextending from the central supporting member to the ring shaped memberto maintain the central supporting member in elevated relation withrespect to the floor level, and adjustable means for imparting anoutward thrust to the struts.

8. In a structure of the general character described, a base comprisinga ring shaped member adapted to afford rim contact with the floor, acentral supporting member concentrically arranged within and above theplane of the ring shaped member, radial struts outwardly and downwardlyextending from the central supporting member to the ring shaped memberto maintain the central supporting member in elevated relation withrespect to the floor level, and screw means for each of the strutslocated within the supporting member and adapted to impart a thrust tothe associated strut.

9. In a structure of the general character described, a base comprisinga ring shaped member adapted to afford rim contact with the floor, acentral supporting member concentrically arranged within and above theplane of the ring shaped member, radial struts outwardly and downwardlyextending from the central supporting member to the ring shaped memberto maintain the central supporting member in elevated relation withrespect to the fioor level, adjustable means for imparting an outwardthrust to the struts, and separable panels inserted in the spacesdefined by the ring shaped member, the struts and the supporting member.

10. In a structure of the general character described, a base comprisinga ring shaped member adapted to afford rim contact with the floor, acentral supporting member concentrically arranged within and above theplane of the ring shaped member, radial struts outwardly and downwardlyextending from the central supporting member to the ring shaped memberto maintain the central supporting member in elevated relation withrespect to the floor level, screw means for each of the struts locatedwithin the supporting member and adapted to impart a thrust to theassociated strut, and separable panels inserted into the spaces definedby the ring shaped member, the struts and the supporting member.

11. In a structure of the general character described, a base comprisinga ring shaped member undercut around its inner lower portion to afford acircumferentially extending notch, a supporting member located centrallywithin the ring shaped member, a plurality of struts each configuredatits outer end to afford an extension adapted to enter the notch, anoverhanging lip portion adapted to arch over the inner upper surface ofthe ring shaped member to afford a close engagement between the strutsand the ring shaped member, the inner ends of the struts being enteredwithin the central supporting member, and adjusting means for each ofthe struts within the supporting member and adapted to impart a thrustto the inner end of the associated strut.

12. In a structure of the general character described, a base comprisinga ring shaped member undercut around its inner lower portion to afford acircumferentially extending notch, a supporting member located centrallywithin the ring shaped member, a plurality of struts each configured atits outer end to afford an extension adapted to enter the notch, anoverhanging lip portion adapted to arch over the inner upper surface ofthe ring shaped member to afforda close engagement between the strutsand the ring shaped member, the inner ends of the struts being enteredwithin the central supporting. member, and adjusting means for'each ofthe struts within the supporting member and adapted to impart a thrustto the inner end of the associated strut, each of the struts beingundercut along its sides, removable panels located Within the spacesbetween the struts and having their side edges entered within theundercut portions of the struts and their outer edges within theundercut notch in the ring shaped member and their inner edges within agroove formed in the periphery of the supporting member.

13. In a chair of the character described, a base comprising a ring-likemember, a rigid supporting member disposed within and in spaced relationto the ring-like member, radially extending struts connecting thesupporting member with the ring-like member, adjustable means bearingagainst each of the struts and adapted to impart a longitudinal thrustthereon to hold the same in rigid relation between the ring-like memberand the supporting member, and separable panels fitted within the spacesdefined between the ring-like member, the struts and the supportingmember.

14. In a chair of the character described, a base comprising a ring-likemember, a rigid supporting member disposed within and in spaced relationto the ring-like member, radially extending struts connecting thesupporting member with the ring-like member, adjustable means bearingagainst each of the struts and adapted to impart a longitudinal thrustthereon to hold the same in rigid relation between the ring-like memberand the supporting member, and separable panels fitted within the spacesdefined between the ringlike member, the struts and the supportingmember, the supporting member being elevated above the plane of the baseand the struts extending diagonally upward thereto from the ring-likemember.

ARTHUR R. SCHWARZKOPF.

